


Happily Ever After

by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)



Series: Imagine Tony & Bucky [8]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, BAMF Natasha, Bucky Wants A Kiss, Damsels in Distress, Humor, M/M, Tony Needs A Hero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 13:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3531158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaqen_hgar/pseuds/Finely%20Honed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">Prompt: Imagine the Avengers stuck in an alternate dimension where they are forced to act out various fairy tales and Tony is always begrudgingly stuck in the damsel role while all the others have to save him (extra bonus points if he constantly tries to save himself first). All the while, Bucky is trying play the hero role, but it always goes wrong for him/the other Avengers always beat him to the punch.</span>
</p><p>Bucky was grinning as he dodged fire-breath, leapt over a pit, and finally managed to take out the stupid… Well, upon closer inspection it wasn’t a dragon like he’d thought at first, it was almost like a giant turtle.</p><p>Whatever it was, it was dead now, thanks to him and him alone, which meant he just had to saunter into the chamber and claim his prize. Finally!</p><p>"Thank you, Bucky!" a voice from nowhere was heard to say, "But our Princess is in another castle!"</p><p>Which was when he realized he’d rescued some mushroom-headed something or other, not the princess he was looking for.</p><p>"Are you kidding me?" he shouted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted over on [imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/). Be sure to stop on over and also enjoy the amazing contributions of [Potrix](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Potrix/pseuds/Potrix), [27dragons](http://archiveofourown.org/users/27dragons/pseuds/27dragons), [InnerCinema](http://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerCinema), and [kamaete](http://kamaete.tumblr.com/)!

Bucky was grinning as he dodged fire-breath, leapt over a pit, and finally managed to take out the stupid… Well, upon closer inspection it wasn’t a dragon like he’d thought at first, it was almost like a giant turtle.

Whatever it was, it was dead now, thanks to him and him alone, which meant he just had to saunter into the chamber and claim his prize. Finally!

"Thank you, Bucky!" a voice from nowhere was heard to say, "But our Princess is in another castle!"

Which was when he realized he’d rescued some mushroom-headed something or other, not the princess he was looking for.

"Are you kidding me?" he shouted.

Bucky, dressed as a plumber for reasons he still couldn’t fathom, threw his cap onto the ground and stomped on it.

But it was too late, everything was fading to black, just like all the times before, which meant it was all over. Someone else had (once again) saved Tony Stark. 

+

"We gotta stop meeting like this," Tony said, grimacing.

Natasha rolled her eyes and continued helping him put out the flames. “I thought you were a scientist?”

"I am!" he sputtered, pink in the cheeks.

"Well, as a scientist, I’m sure you’ve noticed things tend to go boom, or go up in flames whenever you try to rescue yourself."

"I  _have_ , thank you very much,” he growled. He looked down at his taffeta gown with a frown. “Damn. I actually liked this dress.”

Natasha smacked him upside the head. “I’m serious, Stark, this universe is rigged against the damsel in distress. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Tony folded his arms across his chest and pouted. “Tell me about it! There was no reason this shouldn’t have worked. I hardly used any nitroglycerin at all! Stupid, fairy tale bullshit. Not every damsel is in distress, you know? Some of us can kick ass!”

But things were fading to black again, the way they always did once he was rescued. “Here we go again.” Natasha hung her head and gave a little wave.

Tony waved back. “See you soon,” he said as he tried and failed to remain conscious.

+

There was no real way to know how long they’d been trapped there. None of them could agree how many times they’d gone through the motions, finding themselves awakening in new clothes, a new universe around them, and each and every one of them filled with a profound need to save the princess. Or damsel. It didn’t really matter what term you used, because it was always Tony they were saving.

Worse yet, as Tony found out time and time again, he was incapable of saving himself, even if he  _should_  have been able to no problem. He was qualified, and determined, but without fail things backfired when they should not, causing him to have many, many more close calls than strictly necessary.

So far, the only thing they could agree upon was that Natasha had the highest number of rescues under her belt, and that they all wanted to go home.

Well. Most of them.

There was one amongst their number who didn’t want to go home, not yet, not without saving Tony at least once, and that was Bucky.

He’d come close a handful of times, but Natasha was freakishly good at rescues, as was Steve. Hell, even Hulk had saved Tony, and he’d gotten to smash wizards while doing it, which was so unfair!

It turns out Bucky wasn’t under the same compulsion as the others. Or, rather, he was, but not because the strange universe they’d been sucked into imposed it upon him. He’d brought his compulsion with him.

Before they’d been sucked through the vortex, Bucky had been doing what he always did after a battle. Staring at Tony. Some of the staring involved assessment—Tony had a bad habit of keeping his mouth shut unless he had a life threatening injury.

Bucky had lost count of the number of times he’d had to stealthily tend to a wounded Tony; he had it down to a science. You had to just happen upon him with dessert, or have a malfunction with your arm, or a question about which  _Star Trek_  captain was the best, and then he’d be distracted enough to let you take care of him.

So, he’d been staring at Tony to make sure he was okay, but that wasn’t the only reason. There was also the whole Tony being gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and sexy. Bucky might have been thinking of smashing several Doom Bots into dust, then sweeping Tony up into his arms and kissing him incoherent when the vortex appeared, but no way was he fessing up to the group about that.

"How was he?" he asked Natasha.

She paused in her examination of her clothes (they were all dressed as men of the forest) and shrugged. “On fire, as usual. I told him to knock it off.”

"Gang, anyone figure anything out this go ‘round?" Steve asked.

There was a resounding chorus of no’s, followed by Clint skipping by happily. “Dude,  _Robin Hood_. Later losers, I’m all over this!”

"Last one was a video game," Bruce announced. Clint was already gone, and Bucky sighed in resignation. This time had lost cause written all over it. "We’re not even doing fairy tales anymore."

"That’s probably not good," Steve said with a sigh. "Alright. Let’s try again."

"This is the definition of insanity," Natasha grumbled to herself.

And, as expected, Clint was the first to get to Tony, which meant he got to sweep Tony off his feet, plant a kiss on him, and then help him put out the fire he’d accidentally started.

+

Tony sighed, and sighed, and told himself to be patient. The problem was, he could easily repurpose the trebuchet as an escape device, and he was bored out of his mind, so the temptation was too good to resist.

This time, it took Steve and Hulk to dig him out of the rubble, each helping themselves to their reward kiss upon successfully extracting him.

"Hey, how’s Bucky?" Tony asked, aiming for nonchalant while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hulk kisses were heavy on slobber. "I haven’t seen him yet."

Steve scratched his head, and shrugged. “Trapped the same as the rest of us. We passed him a couple minutes ago, actually.”

As it faded to black once more, Tony sighed yet again, and thought it was just his luck. The one member of his team he was actually interested in kissing was nowhere to be found.

+

Bucky didn’t hang around to talk to anyone. Instead, he stole Steve’s horse, and took off like he was being chased by the hounds of hell.

Before leaving, he set the other steeds off into the woods with a loud cry and a smack on each of their asses, hoping this would provide him with a much needed head start.

"Every time," he growled, urging his horse on, "but not this time!"

If he had to see Clint’s smug smile, or Natasha’s bored, triumphant variation of a smirk, hear Hulk’s whoop of victory, or even deal with Steve’s good natured grin, he’d lose it. They’d all rescued Tony and made him look like some sort of punk in the process.

A wizard approached, but he didn’t bother answering his riddles in order to pass—Bucky rode on, decapitating him swiftly.

He took out a legion of trolls single handedly, managed to find his way through the maze, and just as he had entered the tower where Tony was being held, he spotted something none of them had seen in ages—Thor.

Thor looked as if he belonged, was laughing good-naturedly, and also seemed to be drunk off his ass.

"Hail!"

"Where the hell have you been?" Bucky asked, pausing in the great hall. Thor was surrounded by empty flagons and unconscious drinking companions.

"I have been feasting, of course!"

There was a mighty roar from outside, and when Bucky dashed to the doors he saw the unfathomable sight of Natasha riding a dragon… which meant Thor had distracted him just long enough to allow her to catch up! She was bypassing the interior of the tower altogether, was going to fly to Tony’s rescue, which meant…

"Not again!"

Bucky threw his sword and shield down, plopped onto the bench beside Thor, and began emptying every mug within reach. Thor slapped him on the back hard enough to make his suit of armor ring.

Two minutes later, everything faded to black.

+

Tony was in yet another tower. “Yeah, never gets old. I swear, when we get back home I’m moving us to the mansion. I’ve had it up to here with towers!”

He was talking to a bucket he’d decided to pretend was JARVIS. After almost cutting his own hand off in his last attempt to rescue himself, he’d decided to just sit back and be a princess, as stupid as that sounded.

Looking out the window of his tower, he saw beautiful countryside. It was excruciatingly boring, by Tony’s way of thinking. Too quiet for a start.

To amuse himself, he started to sing.

+

Bucky adjusted his tunic and scrubbed his hand across his face. Heartbroken, he’d given up, decided to just go for a walk. Now that Thor had appeared, it was pointless. The handsome bastard could fly; if Bucky couldn’t hack it before, then he was definitely beat now.

Still, it would have been nice. According to the others, Tony was a good kisser. Not that he’d ever find out.

So, as the others took off at high speeds, he’d gone the opposite way, head hanging low, kicking the ground as he went.

And then he heard it. Singing. Not just any singing, it was Tony singing Guns n’ Roses!

 _Shed a tear ‘cause I’m missin’ you_  
I’m still alright to smile  
Buck’, I think about you every day now  
Was a time when I wasn’t sure  
But you set my mind at ease  
There is no doubt you’re in my heart now…

"Tony!"

The singing stopped as Bucky ran up to the tower, drawn there by the sound of Tony’s voice. He grinned wildly, looking up, and there he was!

"Bucky?" Tony sounded embarrassed, and a little excited. He leaned out the window, looking down with the craziest expression on his face. "Holy shit! Get up here!"

Bucky waved, then began looking around. There was no door. He looked again. There were also no windows except for the one Tony had popped his head out of. It was smooth stone, nothing to grip, no way up.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bucky kicked the tower, then regretted it. His stupid outfit came with doeskin boots, which offered little by way of protection.

"What’s taking so long?"

Bucky threw his hat and glared up at Tony. “No doors, no windows, not even ledges. Got any ideas, genius?”

"Hey! Why are you mad at me?"

"Cuz I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve done this, and finally when I get to ya, I’m stuck down here, you’re stuck up there, and dammit, Tony! Everyone’s kissed ya but me!"

It was quiet a moment, but then he heard, “Your accent comes out when you’re pissed.” There was then a strange hissing noise, and Bucky had to jump back as a dark, braided rope came tumbling down. “It’s really sexy. C’mon up, idiot.”

Grumbling the entire way, Bucky used the rope to scale the wall, tumbled through the window, and dusted himself off. Tony was smiling at him, pulling the rope up, and…

"Holy shit, that was your hair?"

"Yeah, there’s a witch, it’s a whole thing, don’t worry about it."

Bucky helped Tony pull the rest of his hair up, then found himself standing there awkward and uncertain. “Do we talk about the dress?”

Tony grinned, and struck a pose. “We could, but I think you said something about a kiss, Brooklyn, and how you’re all jealous, and angry, and…”

Bucky stepped forward, swept Tony up into his arms and kissed him. Tony made a soft appreciative sound, and so Bucky dipped him, kept kissing. Tony held him tight, stroked his face, kissed back.

Any minute now it’d fade to black, and they’d be parted once again, so Bucky was going to take advantage of the time they had.

"I wanted to do this way before we came here," he admitted in a rush.

"Me too."

"Like, for about a year now," he continued on as if Tony hadn’t said anything at all.

Tony beamed. “Me too!”

"And I don’t know if we’ll ever get home, but if we do, I’d like to take you to dinner."

"That sounds great," Tony answered.

Bucky stared for a moment. “Yeah?” The conversation was catching up with him. “You too?”

"Yup. Actually, I was thinking about you and me right before we got sucked into the stupid vortex."

Bucky beamed this time. “Me too!”

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Huh." Bucky grinned, and decided this warranted more kissing. Which led to  _more_ kissing, and maybe some serious groping, until they were both panting, and pink in the face.

"Hey, it’s not fading to black this time," Tony pointed out, licking his lips and batting his lashes.

Bucky nuzzled his neck and made a noise of agreement. That’s when the witch decided to show up.

"She can’t get up here until I let down my hair." Tony leaned out the window and waved his middle finger back and forth. "Shove off!"

"Throw down your hair!"

Tony sighed, and looked around the room. “Hey, help me chuck this stupid harp out the window?”

Bucky lifted it easily, placed it on the windowsill, and Tony gave it a shove. They heard a shriek, then looked down below to find a huge red smear where the witch used to be.

"Let’s cut my hair, use it to repel down, and get the hell out of here."

Which they did, right after another make out session. Once they were at the bottom, Bucky carried Tony so he wouldn’t ruin his dress.

"Think we’ll ever get home?"

"Meh. Who knows? This is pretty romantic," Tony sighed, kissing Bucky’s cheek and kicking his legs. "Being carried off into the sunset by my Prince Charming."

From somewhere, music swelled, and birds sang, the woodland creatures ran out to cheer them on, and Bucky grumbled under his breath in Russian about blowing the entire place to kingdom come.

And they lived happily ever after.

 

 

_Until Clint figured out where they were living and moved in._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Happily Ever AFter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238583) by [RsCreighton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RsCreighton/pseuds/RsCreighton)




End file.
